HUNTSVILLE,
Alabama – The Downtown Self Storage building at Jefferson Street and Clinton
Avenue in Huntsville will get new life as a retail startup business incubator known
as the Clinton Row Project in March.

Downtown
Huntsville, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Chad Emerson said his organization has
signed a lease for six of the ground-floor storage units at Downtown Self
Storage with hopes of spurring new business development in an eclectic
environment in downtown Huntsville.

Now in the
process of finalizing sub leases with tenants, Emerson said the new retail
incubation project has been a six-month endeavor for Downtown Huntsville, Inc.,
which hopes to help young startups find a permanent location within a year of
locating there.

"It gives
local, small business entrepreneurs an opportunity to test whether their retail
concept can be successful in an urban, walkable setting like downtown," Emerson
said.

Live Easy, a
brand-new Huntsville startup by Anne Condit that will feature local,
handcrafted art and goods, will be one of the first small businesses to operate there. Huntsville artist Christina Wegman, who will sell
original paintings and prints, will also sublease a unit at the storage
facility.

Another unit
will feature a rotating gallery for artists to display and sell their works for
up to two weeks at a time.

John
Whitman, visiting professor of entrepreneurship and leadership at the University
of Alabama in Huntsville, said his volunteer organization, Huntsville Open Tech
Coffee, is launching a new public service called Business Button in one of
the units.

Whitman started
HOTCoffee last year to accelerate high-tech startups and build an
entrepreneurial ecosystem in Madison County. The group, which usually meets
bi-weekly, is a new resource for anyone interested in learning about or sharing
ideas on new high-tech startups, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Whitman said
more details about Business Button will be available "as soon as all the
players clear."

Before
it was converted to Downtown Self Storage about 15 years ago, owner David Johnston said
the building was a furniture store and before that, a farm implement. When Downtown Huntsville, Inc., approached
Johnston about the idea of subleasing a few units to small businesses, he
said a "light bulb went off."

"This
used to be one of the prime retail streets in the city," he said, adding that
the business incubator will serve a need in downtown, especially as more young
professionals move into the area to live, work and play.

Emerson
said he anticipates soft openings at units throughout the month of February,
but the grand opening of the Clinton Row Project won't take place until March
1.

Each
tenant will have the option to customize the interior of their units, but
there are currently no plans to make exterior changes to the
facility. A 10x10-foot unit will cost $100 per month.